Cloud computing continues to grow as a preferred platform for information technology (IT) solutions. In particular, cloud computing allows enterprises to leverage shared resources in a pay “as you go” model, thus providing flexibility to adjust resources to meet the needs of a particular enterprise.
In a given cloud infrastructure, end-users can access or alter (i.e., provision) available resources such as memory, servers, applications, etc., via an interface provided by a cloud service provider or vendor. In a typical cloud environment, a cloud service provider provides a catalog of resources, typically an image list, available for end users. Users can then select a best match for their needs.
One of the challenges for users however is that catalog lists are generally very static in nature, and provide little or no guidance for the user. For example, the user may be provided with several options from the catalog to meet a particular set of requirements. Current catalogs are not capable of providing to the user relevant information, such as user feedback, metrics, support documentation, etc. Moreover, in situations where a user requires multiple images to implement a solution (e.g., a front-end Web application and a back-end server), the catalog typically only provides a fixed solution with no flexibility for the user's requirements. Any information provided is limited to the provisioned images.
Accordingly, current approaches to providing solutions via a cloud catalog lack robust information to assist in the selection and implementation of cloud resources.